The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
The Catholic Church has no shortage of images and icons. Sometimes I find that they all blend together and become just another adornment and fade into the background of our spiritual routine. However, solemnities like today invite us to pause and rediscover the beauty hidden among the images of our faith, and be reminded of how they personify the life-giving words of Jesus Christ.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the most long-held devotions, spanning from the early Church Fathers to our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, who features the image on his Papal Crest. While all the details of this great devotion are worth looking into, the primary message of this devotion is the burning love that Jesus Christ has for all of humanity and the trials He is willing to endure to make that love known to each one of us.
The most beautiful words are given by Jesus in the Gospel. Jesus reveals that the burning love of His most Sacred Heart isn't just for humanity, but for you and me. Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, makes clear that no matter when, why, or how far we stray, He will come and carry us back to His flock because His heart burns for us.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy..."
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and walk past that stained glass window of this image we have seen 100 times, or see the Sacred Heart sewn into our priest's vestments, let us all take a second to remember that behind that image is the promise of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ; that He will leave the ninety-nine to find you and me, even if that means His heart will being crowned with thorns, crucified, and pierced. Because that very same Heart is eternally engulfed in fiery love for every one of His sheep.
Thomas Lyons is a Catholic speaker with a background in ministry, teaching, and public speaking. He lives in the Texas Hill Country with his wife Amanda and hosts the podcast Continuing the Call: A Seminary Dropout's Guide to Discernment, where he sits down with guests to discuss all aspects of vocational discernment. Learn more about his ministry on his website and on Instagram.